Polish PM Calls December Protests Attempt of Opposition to Seize Power

Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said that the protests of the opposition that took place in December 2016 in the lower house of the Polish Parliament and later in the streets was a staged performance that was supposed to lead to an upheaval.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The protests of the opposition that took place in December 2016 in the lower house of the Polish Parliament and later in the streets were a deliberate attempt to overthrow government, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said Friday.

"That was a staged performance that was supposed to lead to an upheaval. That was not an accident. The opposition was well-prepared," Szydlo stated in an interview with the Polish Onet web portal.

She stressed that she cannot disclose all the available information yet and added that the issue is being thoroughly analyzed.

Polish opposition paralyzed the work of the lower house of the Polish parliament, the Sejm, in December 2016, when an opposition lawmaker was asked to leave the parliament session after criticizing the speaker's decision to limit media presence in the Polish parliament. Nevertheless, the Sejm met the constitutional quorum without opposition members and approved a number of bills, including the draft budget for 2017. The opposition considered this unconstitutional. This situation led to street protests and one-month parliamentary crisis in Poland.